1936 Ford Fender Restoration and Repair

One of our projects for a customer involved the repair and restoration of a set of fenders for a 1936 Ford. The full restoration included wheeling up large sections and grafting them into the original body of the fender. The grafted sections were then TIG welded and metal finished to a high standard, where no filler is necessary, and then proceeded straight to primer/paint.

Here we start with a few examples of the 1936 Ford fenders before restoration work started. The customer had media blasted the fenders before delivering them to us. At this stage you can really see whats left of your panels and analyze the full structure and integrity of your components. It is difficult to give a true restoration assessment when parts are still painted, the paint could be covering a near perfect panel or hiding a multitude of sins.

Photos of a Ford fender restoration

Damage and rotRear light hackMajor damage

Again just a few shots of the totally rotted out areas of the Ford fenders. There were actually large areas of pitted weak metal that are clearly visible when you look at the areas that have been replaced by newly shaped sheetmetal, that’s been grafted in.

Beginning the Ford Fender Restoration

Ford fender restoration work in progress. New material shaped with the English Wheel with the aid of prior patterns taken from original Ford shapes.

These next photos represent ‘in the middle of the metal finishing stage’ where the weld is being plannished and the lows are being picked up. The surface is filed with a bench file and not an abrasive disc. This conserves the maximum amount of material thickness, which is key in any restoration.

In the middle of metal finishingNew material: metal finished on left and ready for metal finish on right

Final pictures of Ford fender restoration

Final stages of the the Ford fender, welded areas were metal finished with a spoon and varies dollies and hand weights. This was followed by metal finishing the whole fender to complete, which leaves them ready for primer to complete the restoration.